Volkswagen scores approval to start fixing cars in Europe

Fixes in Europe will start early next year, but that doesn't guarantee a thumbs-up for North America

by
Elisabeth Behrmann, Bloomberg | December 16, 2015

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German authorities signed off on Volkswagen‘s proposed fixes for some 8.5 million diesel engines in Europe that contain software designed to cheat emissions tests, with repairs set to start early next year.

The fixes apply to four-cylinder diesel engines and the approval in Germany extends across the European Union’s 28 national markets, the Wolfsburg-based company said in a statement Wednesday. The 1.2-and 2.0-litre engines will get only a software upgrade, while the 1.6-liter engine will also require installation of a piece of mesh to regulate air flow.

Volkswagen expects to start notifying affected customers in the next few weeks and said it will repair their vehicles in stages, beginning with those that require only a software update. Work will start on the 1.6-litre vehicles that need the hardware fix by the third quarter next year, it said.

The EU anti-fraud office OLAF said this week it’s investigating loans Volkswagen received from the European Investment Bank to produce cleaner engines. Still to come is a ruling in the North American market, where regulators first uncovered the diesel deception. Approval of repairs in Germany doesn’t guarantee a thumbs-up there.